Whether you're applying to a graduate scheme or for an entry level role,
preparation is key to a good interview, so make sure you give yourself time.

Graduate roles are hard to come by; even once you’ve managed to find a position marked with the crucial ‘entry level’ tag, you can bet that you’ll be competing against hundreds and possibly thousands of other grads for the role.

The first and most important thing to remember is that preparation is key. Make sure you know the role and the company inside out. If you know someone in the industry, take the chance to grill them for information – the more knowledge you have of the sector, the more confident you will feel answering questions.

“Confident, well informed candidates come across well,” says Sajida Akhtar, Resourcing Manager at Debenhams. “We want candidates to be focused, but also realistic about the role that they are applying for. When I was recruiting for one entry level position, one candidate asked me how often they would get to travel, which wasn’t realistic for a graduate job.”

Further to confidence in your knowledge of the company and your own skills, try and be aware of your body language, which might be giving you away.

“In an interview, gestures such as having a decent hand shake, not muttering or touching your face, will make you seem at ease,” says Chris Rea, Business Services Manager at Prospects, “that is where practice and rehearsal pays off.”

Preparation with an honest friend will certainly help you highlight any weaknesses in your body language. Dropping into your university careers centre may also be a good idea, as many universities will offer mock interviews and C.V advice.

"Any student who gets an interview can have a mock interview with us first," says Karen Barnard, Head of UCL Careers Service, part of the Careers Group, University of London. "Students will also get feedback on their interview, so this service can help with your confidence."

This kind of mock interview will also highlight any difficult questions that you may potentially find yourself confronted with. While it is difficult to anticipate all possible questions, it’s essential to know your C.V inside out and have some answers prepared to questions that candidates typically find hard to answer.

"Some open ended questions can be quite difficult," says Karen. "Questions such as ‘tell me a bit about yourself’ are difficult, as you might wonder where to start. Negative questions such as ‘what are your weaknesses? can also be challenging.

"In this case, you should try to be honest and believable, but also talk about what you are doing to address this weakness. Don’t try and be clever by saying ‘I’m such a perfectionist’ because recruiters will hear this many times and won’t give it credit."

"Give yourself time to answer difficult questions and don’t be afraid to pause for thought," says Chris. "You may be asked to describe a challenging situation and how you dealt with it. In this case some recruiters will be looking for how a candidate answers -with evidence- and not what they come up with. The only questions that really matter will give you the opportunity to talk about your experience, which doesn’t have to relate to work. It could be experiences you had at university or in your life in general."

Once you’ve tackled the questions thrown your way, you will be given the opportunity to ask your own. What you choose to ask can be equally important and revealing in your interview – so it’s essential to think carefully about what you want to know.

"It’s fine to take in a list of questions," says Sajida. "If anything, having questions prepared shows that you have thought about the role and prepared for it.

"Most graduates should be keen to find out about development and training opportunities offered by the company and about career progression. You should also want to find out about the team, and what an average day might look like in the role."

Remember, this is as much an opportunity for you to find out about the team and how well you will fit in the organisation, so don’t be afraid to ask about progression, training and any mentor programmes they offer new starters. Just don’t fall into the group of candidates whose first questions are about holidays and pay.

"Lots of graduates will let themselves down at this stage of the interview," says Chris. "They will ask something really banal about car parking and lunch breaks because they will suddenly find that they have been put on the spot. You want to get the interviewers talking as well, so you could ask the interviewer how they started in the company and how they ended up in their position."

With many graduate schemes opening soon, now is the time to start thinking about your C.V and interview technique. Register with your university careers service to avoid missing out on potentially helpful interview advice and tips.

"We’ve definitely seen an increase in the number of students using the service here," says Karen. "When I started 9 years ago, we had 10 people in the careers team and this term we will have 42. Student numbers have gone up but so has student demand. From what employers tell us, the thing that makes a graduate stand out, is someone who is confident in their answers."

Remember, the jobs market is still extremely competitive, especially for graduates.- therefore it’s definitely worth honing these skills now to give yourself the best possible chance of impressing.